Beylik of Tunis

The Beylik of Tunis was an autonomous beylik of the Ottoman Empire that existed from 1705 to 1881, with Tunis serving as its capital. The beylik was created after the local rulers of Tunisia defeated the Ottoman rulers in battle to become autonomous Ottoman subjects, and it enacted the first constitution in the Arab World in 1861. After Tunisia became bankrupt in 1869, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy took control over its economy, and Tunisia became a protectorate of France in 1881.